


Dye

by PhantomSpade



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Family resemblance, Gen, Hair Dyeing, Hurt/Comfort, Past Character Death, Past Child Abuse, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-14
Updated: 2018-10-14
Packaged: 2019-08-01 19:48:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16290662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhantomSpade/pseuds/PhantomSpade
Summary: Futaba claims to have dyed her hair just because she wanted to. But she also has a more personal reason to her decision.





	Dye

**Author's Note:**

> Persona 5 (c) Atlus

Futaba sat in front of the mirror in her bathroom, staring at her reflection in thought. Like her, the person staring back was a young girl with light-colored eyes, covered by a huge pair of glasses, and wearing casual clothing. Because she had spent most of her time playing games or hacking, Futaba had rarely checked on her own appearance. But she had always made sure to keep up with her hygiene, not so much because she wanted to (she didn't mind a little filth), but because Sojiro wanted her to take care of her health. 

The most striking feature of the girl in front of her was her long, bright orange hair. The strands rested past her shoulders as she twirled a finger in them, eyeing the color and length of the hair that was on her head. 

It had been only a few years since she had dyed her hair, but Futaba felt as if it had been a decade since then. After Wakaba was killed, Futaba was passed around her mother's relatives since her biological father (whoever he may have been) wasn't available to have custody of her. Unfortunately, at the time, Wakaba's family blamed Futaba for causing her mother's death, telling her that it was her fault and that she should've died. So they've treated her with nothing but disdain, treated her like she was an animal meant to be caged and muzzled.

Her uncle was the worst of them all. Futaba had felt like she was in hell when she came to live with him. He had constantly mistreated her in many different ways, from making her sleep on the floor, to hitting her every time she tried to stand up to him. And it was all because he was jealous of her mother.

It was a miracle that Sojiro had came to her rescue and gained custody of her before it could get any worse. Yet, it wasn't enough to heal her from the trauma she had from her mother's death and the mistreatment of her own family. Not to mention that Sojiro was in danger of losing custody of her at the time. 

But when the Phantom Thieves came and helped her and Sojiro, Futaba felt like she was reborn. She felt happier, felt like she enjoy life now she had friends and family that loved her. And while she was still making progress, she was becoming less afraid of going outside of the house. 

Inspecting her orange hair, Futaba remembered that she had dyed it after Sojiro took her in. She remembered that she dyed it because she claimed to do it on the whim. But she realized she had another reason for that decision: she wanted to cut herself away from her past. She wanted to forget the reminder of how it had started for her. 

A part of her had forgotten what she had looked like prior to coloring her hair. But the other part knew what color her hair was under the orange. At first, it frightened her that if she washed away the color, she remember her past. But she reminded herself that she had already overcome the trauma and that she shouldn't be afraid to look back. 

With determination, Futaba got into the shower and began washing her hair. It was a long and difficult task for her, but gradually, the orange faded down with the water and into the drain beneath her feet, and gave way to dark strands. When she felt satisfied that she got all the dye out, she stepped out and dried herself. Then as she stepped in front of the mirror, she lowered the towel from her head and let it fall to her feet as she stared in shock. 

No longer stood the copy of Futaba staring back at her, but the image of her mother. Aside from the eyes and length of hair, the black locks were enough to make Futaba a splitting image of Wakaba. Laying a hand on the mirror in a daze, the girl had never realized how strongly she resembled her own mother. It didn't scared her; instead, she felt a wave of nostalgia overcome her as she continued to play with her hair. While being lost in thought looking at her reflection, she didn't hear the knock on the door or it opening, revealing Sojiro.  

"Futaba? Dinner is ready. Are you- _Wakaba?_ " 

Futaba turned her head to see Sojiro standing outside of the bathroom with a stunned expression. Realizing why, Futaba quickly picked up the towel from the floor and sloppily wrapped it around her head in attempt to cover her now black hair from view. She remembered another reason why she dyed her hair long ago: she wanted to spare the pain of Sojiro seeing Wakaba in her. She knew that he had loved her, so she dyed her black hair orange so that he wouldn't have to be reminded of her. 

She quickly tried to explain her actions while trying to keep her anxiety from rising up. "I-I was just washing my hair out. I'll dye it back after dinner-"

As she was rambling, Sojiro walked in and put his arms around Futaba to pull her into a hug. The girl froze, not expecting this kind of reaction nor knowing what do to except awkwardly returning the hug. They hugged in silence for a few second until Sojiro spoke. 

"You look so much like your mother, Futaba." The girl was surprised at how soft Sojiro's voice was. I've almost forgot what your natural hair looked like." 

Futaba felt like she was going to cry. "I didn't want you to think of Mom when you see me like this." 

Sojiro didn't anything at first, deciding to run his hand into Futaba's wet black locks. He never had the chance to touch Wakaba's hair before her death, but he imagined that it was soft and silky like Futaba's. Seeing her hair in this state brought Sojiro an emotion that Futaba was feeling earlier: nostalgia. And from his own, love. 

"You...You can keep it like this for a while, if you want. It doesn't bother me." Sojiro said, still stroking her hair. 

Futaba choked back tears as she hugged him tighter, feeling overwhelmed by the emotions crashing down on her. Even though Sojiro reminded her that they should eat dinner before it gets cold, neither of them made any move to let go. They've remained glued to the spot, hugging each other while reminiscing about Wakaba. 

Maybe she should keep it this way for a while... 


End file.
